On Saturday, several large wildfires broke out across Greece. Some wildfires threatened entire towns and large forests, while another wildfire cut the country’s second largest island, Evia in half.
Over the past few days, more than 100 wildfires have broken out across Greece, and the country has experienced the strongest heat wave in decades, forcing thousands of residents and tourists to evacuate. Although most of the smaller fires have been brought under control, the head of the Greek Civil Defense Department Nicos Hadalias said on Saturday that first responders are still fighting at least 55 fires.
The biggest fires were one in Evia and two fires in the Peloponnese Peninsula in southern Greece.
On Saturday morning, the ferry evacuated 1,153 people from Evia. This is an apocalyptic scene, people on social media Like a disaster movieVideo clips show that after evacuating from the burning lake shore, many people crowded into a boat, some holding babies or helping the elderly to be safe because of smoke and flames coming out of the distance.
SOTIRIS DIMITROPOULOS/Eurokinissi/AFP/Getty Images
In the Mani area of the Peloponnese, a local official said that wildfires there have destroyed about 70% of her area.
“This is a biblical disaster. We are talking about three-quarters of the city,” East Mani deputy mayor Eleni Drakoulakou told the national broadcaster ERT while begging for more water drop planes.
So far, a volunteer firefighter has been killed in fighting the fire, and 20 people were treated in the hospital last week. Greek Prime Minister Kiriakos Mizotakis visited the fire department headquarters in Athens on Saturday and expressed “deep sorrow” over the death of the firefighter.
According to the Associated Press, Mizotakis stated that providing assistance to everyone affected by wildfires will be “my top political priority” and promised that all burned areas will be reforested.
Mizotakis said: “When this nightmarish summer has passed, we will focus all our attention on repairing the damage as soon as possible and restoring our natural environment again.”
The country has requested help through European UnionEmergency support systems, first aid personnel and aircraft were dispatched from France, Spain, Ukraine, Cyprus, Croatia, Sweden, Israel, Romania and Switzerland.
Although some fires are under investigation for human reasons, many Greek and European officials blame climate change for the large number of fires that occurred in southern Europe, Greece and Turkey this summer. The temperature in Greece soared to 113 degrees this week, the strongest heat wave in 30 years.
In Turkey, at least 8 people are surpassing 100 fires in 35 cities From the end of last month to August. According to the Associated Press, Turkey’s top forestry official stated that most of the fires have been contained since July 28, but rescuers are still trying to control six fires in two provinces on Saturday.
At the same time, the United States is currently experiencing 107 active wildfires So far, more than 2 million acres of land have been burned in 14 states.
California is experiencing the most devastating fire in the state’s history. Dixie FireIt triggered and burned 432,800 acres of land on July 14th, accounting for only 35% by Saturday.
